Good News

After all the sadness in the news, I am so happy to share that our family is growing! Now it's not what you all think. My sister-in-law, her Hubby & their sweet son welcomed darling Baby G into the world while we were on vacation. He is pure perfection and I couldn't be happier for them.

Also, dear childhood friend T (who also happens to be Bestie J's sister) got engaged over the weekend! I can't wait to hear all the details & maybe I'll even get to go dress shopping (hint.hint….I promise I won't be a bother & I'll bring my own champagne!) Kala Stephana T & R!!!

Happy Monday everyone! It is shaping up to be a glorious Spring day here.

Vacation Day 7 {Epcot}

We were all feeling the affects of yesterday's marathon park session and rolled into Epcot well after the gates opened. Thankfully, the overcast sky scared away many people and the park was not overcrowded.

The spender of Spring burst throughout the park and the kiddies were more than happy to pose in front of their favorite character topiaries.

We meandered through the countries as we made our way to Italy for our 11:00 am lunch reservations. I found booking an early lunch guaranteed that we would have food in front of the little ones by noon when the actually started to get hungry & aided in warding off any mid day meltdowns.

This intricate model village set up by HGTV was nestled among spruce bushes and fascinated young and old.

Once we in Italy we enjoyed the most gigantic pizzas cooked in the traditional Naples style. We had so much pizza remaining that we canceled our dinner reservations and dinned on leftovers in the park!
My favorite was a white pizza with arugula, melon & proscuitto…….yummy!

After lunch, Bopi, YiaYia & Bear headed out for an afternoon nap inducing stroller ride. Hubby, Belle, Peanut & I helped thwart the plans of the evil Dr. D in Germany.

Afterwards, we headed over to the butterfly house. Though the number of butterflies were underwhelming, the kiddies had a blast attempting to catch or even touch one. And of course the topiaries were again beautiful.

Finally we managed to fit in a few rides, Nemo: Under the Sea Adventure,  Turtle Talk with Crush (absolutely hilarious btw), Living with the Land, and Test Track before meeting back up with YiaYia, Bopi & Bear.

 We continued our day by visiting the remaining countries before winding up in France.

I swooned over the gardens in France. I could have sat and looked at them all day. My favorite section was a grouping of gardenia trees off the beaten path. The scent was heavenly. And being one of my absolute favorites, it saddens me that I they are not hearty enough to grow in our zone.

After taking in the Impressions de France, we stopped off at the scrumptious bakery and sampled a variety of delectable pastries including the best napoleon and macaroon I've ever tasted.

A final romp through the children's garden and playground rounded out our Epcot experience.

And just like that we bid farewell to Disney…..it's been Magical!